500,000 households were provided with safe sanitation systems in India within seven years. Over 10,000 jobs were created, with women having been trained in masonry. About 85 percent sanitation density was reached in around 1,000 villages in various Indian States. Over 10 tonnes of human waste was converted into marketable compost, 30,000 m3 soil conditioner is ready for reuse and 1,000 toilet-linked biogas units were constructed.
This is an extensive scope of work carried out by FINISH Society (Financial Inclusion Improves Sanitation and Health), in ten Indian states along with WASTE. WASTE, a Netherlands based Solid and Liquid Waste Management organisation, follows the mission of turning waste into prosperity.
Through efforts by FINISH and WASTE, Kenya witnessed sanitation awareness among 840,000 people, provision of sanitation facilities to 20,000 households and 100,000 people. Creation of sanitation enterprises and livelihood opportunities is the next step. In India, FINISH addresses the demand and supply side of sanitation through a multi-stakeholder approach involving the entire sanitation service and value chains. Thus, FINISH raises sanitation awareness and creates a demand for sanitation services and products among end-users.
WASTE achieved 18 times leverage on grant funding through FINISH in India. Thus, for every Dutch government funded Euro, €18 was generated locally.
Having achieved tangible results timely, WASTE is now taking up the initiative to scale up the sanitation challenge to 50 million more people, thus, tackling the waste problem in peri-urban areas of developing countries as well. This initiative is called the FINISH Mondial.
WASTE would leverage an initial investment of €30 million into the €480 million FINISH Mondial programme, providing sustainable sanitation and waste management services to 2.5 million households, 12.5 million people directly and 37.5 million indirectly, in Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Kenya, Nepal, Uganda and Malawi. The sanitation/waste investment would come to €180 per household with maximum funding emanating from commercial sources and local governments.
FINISH Mondial, through improved sanitation, will acutely reduce diseases and encourage people to participate in economic activities. About 2,000 new businesses will be created in the sanitation supply and conversion fields, whereby organic matter is reused into the soil, improving soil fertility, water management, and local climates, thereby encouraging sustainable development goals.
More than 6 million women will be empowered. Involvement in demand creation and financial inclusion will strengthen women’s capacities. They would decide on taking a sanitation loan for toilet construction, apart from participating in toilet construction and choice of toilet type. As health improves, efficiency increases, their medical expenses will also lower. These interventions will create a local market for sanitation construction industry, soap making and for re-use of sanitation products, like compost, urine and biogas. Jobs will also be created at material suppliers and human waste collecting enterprises. Finally, in the sanitation value chain, nutrients present in human excreta will benefit people too. Data from India shows that the value of nutrients in the excreta alone exceeds €2.5 million annually. If human waste is further processed, the turnover exceeds €50 million.
To be able to fulfil this commitment, we need your help by partnering with us.